We Need to Know – Transparency Letter
The Global Network Initiative has joined a coalition of technology companies and advocates for free speech and privacy rights to deliver a letter to the US government demanding greater transparency around national security-related surveillance of Internet and telephone communications. Organized by GNI member the Center for Democracy & Technology, the signatories include GNI companies, civil society organizations, and investors among a diverse array of companies and organizations.
In the wake of recent revelations about the breadth of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, the letter presses both the Obama Administration and Congress to allow Internet and telephone companies to publish general numerical information about the different types of government requests they receive and the number of people affected. The letter further pushes for the government to issue its own “transparency reports” detailing similar information about the scope of its surveillance activities. And a newly launched petition directed at the White House via WeNeedToKnow.info invites the public to add their voice to the call for greater transparency around government surveillance.
Read coverage of the letter in the New York Times and Washington Post.